


The Bounty Hunter

by Bookshido



Series: The Stories of Arcadia Donovan, Lone Wanderer [3]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 3
Genre: Angst, Bullying, Gen, Mistaken Identity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-08-09
Packaged: 2018-12-13 05:44:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11753280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bookshido/pseuds/Bookshido
Summary: Lindsey 'Calamity' Stevens is either the luckiest or the unluckiest person alive. Everyone around her seems to meet an unfortunate fate while she survives to live another day. When an unspeakable tragedy strikes the settlement of Daybridge that has been her home for years, she is the easiest scapegoat and is quickly exiled by those she thought family. Recreating herself as 'Calamity Stevens,' she strikes out to become a bounty hunter. However, a case of mistaken identity leaves Lindsey with a Pip-Boy on her wrist and a target on her back.





	1. Chapter 1

Lindsey hurried down the street past the playground, book in hand towards the old community center that served as a school for the settlement of Daybridge. Her dark blonde hair was messily braided on the side and sloppily held together. Her clothes were sort of clean, like they hadn’t been washed in ages, but had no holes or large stains. Lindsey was holding three books, each one scuffed but intact. She passed by three burned out homes, some of the many relics of the Pre-War era that were still standing. They each seemed identical cookie cutter homes, though she’d never dared go into the ruins. Too many rumors, she was too young; the list went on and on. She picked up the pace and scanned the horizon, trying to see if the usual crowd was outside of the school already. 

Lindsey frowned as a shiver went down her spine and slowed her pace. The full details of the ex-community center came into view and she looked around to see if the second entrance was blocked. It wasn’t. However, she was already in sight of the other children and as she approached the school’s front gate, their quiet chatting died to silence. She lowered her gaze and tried to walk faster as she passed by the main crowd. 

“Hey, Lindsey Loser,” James Binton called mockingly, shoving her down as she passed by.

She tripped on a crack in the pavement and went down hard, sliding a little from the force. Lindsey stayed down, breathing heavily as her elbows and knees started to sting. Her books were spread out in front of her, some of them resting solely on the pages and not the covers. Keeping her facial expression neutral, she slowly got up and brushed herself off as she went to pick up her books. Only once she had all of them in her hands did she start to walk back towards the school. But Jimmy stopped her.  

“Oops, did I break one of them?” he mocked, earning the laughs of her classmates. 

“No, you didn’t,” she replied, adjusting her hold on the books as she picked them up. “You can’t break books.”

“Oh, so she can talk,” he laughed. “That’s new.”

“You’re such a jerk!” she shouted, spitting it at him and clutching her books tight to her chest.

“You think you’re so big and bad since you watched your parents die?” Jimmy hissed, getting up in her face. “Guess what? If you mattered at all, you’d be with ‘em. Obviously, those raiders wanted to punish you for existing so they left you alive. You’re a worthless, waste of space, supplies, and caps.”

Lindsey was about to reply when she looked around and saw that the other students had moved in to circle her and close off all exits. None of the faces showed any sign of care, concern, or sympathy. Where one face ended, another began and they all blurred together as she started to tear up.  

“Calamity, Calamity, lost all her family,” Jimmy began, shoving her into Marsha Peters.

“Calamity, Calamity, who knows if she’s san-ity,” she jeered, pushing Lindsey into the other side of the circle. 

“Calamity, Calamity, doesn’t use profanity,” Jessica Hannon said, pushing her to her twin.

“Calamity, Calamity, no one gives a damn-ity,” Jenna continued, pushing her back around. 

“Calamity, Calamity, will never find a man-ity,” Gary Mitchell piped up, earning a small laugh from the others now that they were entering the new verses.

“Calamity, Calamity, nobody would touch-ity,” Max Adams shouted, making them laugh harder as she was shoved even more roughly.

All of Lindsey’s books spilled out of her arms and were kicked around by the other kids. 

“Calamity, Calamity,” Marsha began again, but at that moment, Miss Holland ran over and pushed apart the circle and grabbed Lindsey by the arm.

The teacher pulled the girl free from the others and pushed her behind her, shielding her with her body. The jeering was soon drowned out by the boos and whining of the students now that their entertainment was gone. 

“I am ashamed of all of you,” Miss Holland scolded, making them all fall silent. “Calam-I mean, Lindsey-”

The main four began laughing at her small mistake and Lindsey felt the first tears begin to fall. 

“Has been going through a very tough time. You all should know better,” the teacher told them, venom entering her tone. “What has happened to her could happen to you at any turn.”

The group stayed quiet as she took a deep breath before speaking again. 

“Go back to the classroom and wait for me there,” she ordered, pointing at the schoolhouse with her free arm. “I’ll deal with you when I come back.”

The kids slowly headed back to the schoolhouse, giving the pair looks that seemed to mixed with disappointment and anger. Only after all the other kids were inside did Miss Holland turn to Lindsey and sigh. 

“I don’t know what to say,” she sighed, rubbing her temples. “I just… this is the fourth time this week that they have caused this kind of disturbance. Not to mention all of the past incidents.”

Lindsey sniffled and wiped at her nose to keep it from running.

“I sorry, but I don’t think you should come back to school tomorrow,” Miss Holland said, wincing. “They’re only going to get worse from here, and I can’t teach a class if they will not stop bothering another student.”

“Why do I have to leave?” Lindsey wailed, finally letting all of her emotions out. “They were the ones being mean!”

“Lindsey, I’m being paid to teach as many students as possible,” Miss Holland sighed, still rubbing her temples. “And right now, I’m not teaching anyone. Look, I can still teach you, just not here.”

“I…” Lindsey whispered, wiping at her eyes. “I…”

“I wish it could be different,” Miss Holland said wistfully, patting Lindsey on the shoulder in what was meant to be a nice gesture, but only came off as condescending. 

“Fine!” Lindsey snapped, taking a step back and glaring at her. “I hope you like teaching the rest of those… those… insensitive delinquents!”

Even as Miss Holland tried to call after her to stay for the rest of the day, she ran through the playground and out the front gate. It slammed shut behind her. Still wiping tears away as she ran down the street, Lindsey bolted all the way home. Past the other kids’ homes, past the burned out ruins, past the playground. She ran up the front walk, slamming the fence gate behind her as she fumbled to pull out her keys and unlock the front door. Lindsey pushed her way inside and slammed the door shut, locking the deadbolt on muscle memory alone. 

Once she was locked in, she slid down to the floor, sobs pouring out of her. Tears wouldn’t stop falling and they dripped down off her chin to soak the neckline of her shirt. Lindsey remained there for almost an hour until she finally noticed the beam of sunlight streaming in the back window and hitting her right in the face. Only then did she rise, wipe at her eyes and head upstairs. She passed by her parents long empty bedroom and into her own next door. Lindsey flopped on her barely made bed and stared at the ceiling, hands resting delicately on her stomach. 


	2. Chapter 2

_ Ten years later… _

 

“I’ll take three bottles of Nuka-Cola, a box of Abraxo cleaner, and two boxes of InstaMash,” Lindsey demanded, slamming twenty caps on the store counter. 

With a curled lip, Marsha took the caps and went under the counter. She pulled up three bottles of Nuka-Cola and pushed them over to Lindsey before turning around and grabbing the other items.

“Anything else I can get you?” the storekeeper asked with a sneer.

“Yeah, actually,” Lindsey replied sweetly, flashing her a sugary smile. “How about getting your head out of your ass? I’ll pay you fifty caps.”

“How dare you!” Marsha growled, clenched her hands on the edge of the counter. “I should have you thrown out of my shop!”

“It’s not your shop, Marsha,” Lindsey snapped, putting her purchases. “It’s your bastard of a husband’s.”

“You-” Marsha began to spit back, but before she could, the bell over the door chimed. 

Two kids came running in, bolting around the shop and nearly knocking over a rack of clothes before heading behind the counter. They were a boy and girl, nearly identical, and practically bouncing off the walls. 

“Mommy! Mommy!” Tina screeched, making Lindsey wince from the pitch. “Did you get in the candy?!”

“No, I didn’t, precious stars,” Marsha told them, changing mood in a heartbeat. “Did you have a good day in school?”

“Mrs. Holland taught us about rats!” Alex exclaimed, looking almost bloodthirsty.  

While the little boy kept going on and on about the lesson, Lindsey made her quick exit out onto the main street and breathed a sigh of relief. All the other settlement kids were heading home, and the majority of them swerved out of her way as she headed down the street towards her house. Only one actually greeted her, little Hannah Watts. The girl waved at her and skipped by to her parents, who gave Lindsey stern glares before shutting their doors. 

She shrugged and kept walking. This was the norm. Once a week, she would come into town and buy supplies for the next week. Usually wasn’t much, which kept her from the brunt of Marsha’s nasty attitude and out of Jimmy’s way. Then she’d head on home. Which was where she was going now. The walk home was as painful today as it had been ten years ago. Knowing that no one was going to greet her still brought a lump to her throat.

However, when she turned the corner there was a pair of people seated on her porch, waving exuberantly. They seemed to be a couple and were sitting on her front steps. Both were dressed like they’d just walked out of the Wasteland 

“Hello, neighbor!” the man called when she finally was in earshot.

“Uh, hi,” she called back, waving awkwardly. 

“I’m Jill, and this is my husband Fred!” the woman called, rising and hurrying down the front walk to shake her hand. “We just moved to town and wanted to say hi.”

“Nice to meet you,” Lindsey said, shaking her hand and looking them up and down. “Where’d you move here from?”

“We’re honestly wanderers,” Fred explained. “But we last spent some time in Megaton before arriving here.”

Lindsey looked them over again and nodded to herself. They seemed to type. Wasteland wanderers, looking this way and that for a place to settle or make their fortune. Daybridge didn’t get very many new settlers; the Stevens family was one of the last groups to join the settlement in the past twenty years. 

“So, you’ve been all over the place?” Lindsey asked, crossing her arms. 

“You name it, we’ve probably been there,” Jill said proudly.

Lindsey nodded to herself yet again and flashed them a hesitant smile. 

“I’m not being a very good hostess,” she apologized. “Want to come in? I just picked up some Nuka-Cola from the general store if you want some.”

“That’s very kind of you, but we’ve got other people to greet,” Fred explained. “Can we stop by later?”

_ If the others haven’t turned you against me,  _ she thought. 

But what she said was: “If you want to.”

Jill looked a little confused about her wording, but nodded. The pair started walking back down the street, hand in hand. 

“Goodbye, new neighbor!” Jill called, spinning around and walking backwards. “See you tonight!”

Fred joined her, both of them sporting huge smiles. Lindsey waved back and turned away, pulling out her set of keys and letting herself into the house. 


End file.
